Crypto and other digital assets now sit squarely within UK property law. The Property (Digital Assets etc) Act received Royal Assent on 2 December 2025, with the Ministry of Justice publishing details on 4 December and the Law Commission confirming the date. For investors and SMEs, that means clearer rights when things go wrong and fewer grey areas when holding or transacting tokens.

What does the Act actually do? In plain terms, it states that something digital or electronic can attract personal property rights even if it isn’t a physical object or a legal claim. Rather than listing which assets qualify, Parliament has left courts to develop the boundaries case by case - a pragmatic move that keeps the law flexible as technology evolves.

Coverage matters. The Ministry of Justice says the Act extends to England and Wales and Northern Ireland; Scotland is not included, with the Scottish Government consulting separately on recognition under Scots law. UK-based firms operating across borders should assume different treatment may still apply north of the border until Holyrood decides its approach.

For fraud victims, this is a welcome shift. English courts were already granting remedies over crypto - from proprietary injunctions to service via NFT - in cases like AA v Persons Unknown and D’Aloia v Persons Unknown. The new statute gives a firmer footing for those remedies, making it easier to argue that stolen tokens are property that can be traced and recovered.

It also tidies up everyday life events. According to the Ministry of Justice, digital assets can now be treated like other belongings in probate, bankruptcy and corporate insolvency processes. Executors, office-holders and creditors should find it simpler to identify and deal with wallets, exchange accounts and token holdings alongside shares, cash and jewellery.

For CFOs and founders, the commercial angle is straightforward: clearer property rights reduce contractual friction. Lenders may be more willing to consider token collateral once documentation, custody and valuation frameworks catch up. In the meantime, firms should refresh T&Cs, custody arrangements and incident response plans to reflect that tokens are property subject to proprietary claims.

One point to keep in mind: the Act doesn’t rewrite financial regulation or tax rules. FCA and Bank of England work on stablecoins and custody continues separately, and HMRC’s treatment of crypto gains and income is unchanged by this property law update. Think of this as legal plumbing for ownership and remedies, not a new regulatory regime.

Government sees an economic upside. The MoJ argues greater legal certainty will attract investment and disputes work to the UK’s legal sector, which it values at £42.6 billion a year with a 384,000-strong workforce. For law firms, fund administrators and forensic specialists, that reads as a pipeline rather than a headline.

The timeline is clear enough for planning: Lords stages completed in May, Commons scrutiny ran through the summer and autumn, and Royal Assent landed on 2 December 2025. Expect early test cases in 2026 to probe where the courts draw lines - for example, which digital records meet property tests like being definable and identifiable by third parties.

If you hold tokens, make a practical start: maintain an up-to-date asset register with wallet and exchange details; store recovery phrases securely; and ensure your will and corporate mandates reference digital assets. If you’re a business, map custody and control, agree a valuation policy, and rehearse how you’d evidence ownership swiftly after a hack. This isn’t legal advice, but it will make the new law work harder for you.